Iroquois Nationals Behind the Scenes - Part 5: Lyle at the ESPYS; Birth of the Nationals; More

The ESPYs were held Wednesday evening in Los Angeles, and Iroquois Nationals/Albany star Lyle Thompson made the tough decision to take a flight out early Wednesday to be at the event, where he along with four others were the nominees for Male College Athlete of the Year.

Lyle took his mother, Deloris, along with him. I spoke to Lyle when he returned Thursday afternoon, and he was glad he attended, though he said he couldn’t bring himself to go ask anyone from the pro sports world to take a photo with him. I found that a bit ironic considering I’ve watched the guy sign hundreds of autographs and take hundreds of photos with any fan who approaches him, even immediately after a tough loss.

Lyle said some of the other nominees and attendees were aggressive in their attempt to speak with some of the NFL and NBA stars on hand. He found himself within reach of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, Indiana Pacers star Paul George and UFC fighter Chris Weidman.

“Some people were on a mission,” Lyle said.

I can’t help but appreciate the fact he wasn’t falling over his feet to schmooze with some of the stars, though his mom did capture a pic of him and fellow nominee Jameis Winston. Lyle didn’t win the award; it went to basketball player Doug McDermott from Creighton. (And Lyle’s yet to receive the gift basket that was promised to all the nominees.) But the fact he was even nominated and attended the event is just another page in the incredible story that this special group of Iroquois lacrosse players have been writing these past few years.

Heading out to LA wasn’t an easy decision for the youngest Thompson. I rode back in a van with him and his brothers Monday night after the Australia game, and he was debating whether he should go. It was a bit risky, the Nationals seeing their most gifted offensive player fly out of Denver on a day they were to play the quarterfinal matchup against Scotland, a team featuring the likes of the McBride brothers, Jordan and Jimmy.

But the Iroquois pulled it out in a close 10-8 decision. It was a good test for the Iroquois, who staff members say haven’t yet put together a full game; in fact, they say the team really only showed what it can do for a quarter and a half, the last 30 minutes, of the first game against Canada and again for the first quarter Thursday night before the Canadians pulled away with an eight-goal run.

Lyle’s nomination for an ESPY made me contemplate just how much lacrosse in the Native American community has advanced since the Iroquois Nationals were established in the early 1980s.

I sat down briefly with Oren Lyons Thursday afternoon, and he began to tell me some of the history behind the Iroquois Nationals before needing to head out for another meeting — he’s one busy guy out here.

Lyons explained the genesis of the Iroquois Nationals. It turns out that Lyons’ teammate and friend at Syracuse University, Roy Simmmons Jr., told Lyons in 1983 he thought the Iroquois should play an exhibition matchup with the Canadian national team.

“We thought that sounded like a good idea,” Lyons said. “I said, ‘let’s play. What the hell?’”

At that point, the core of of the Iroquois lacrosse-playing group was made up mostly of box players, which is the case for some of the Nationals today, though the majority do in fact have field experience. But in 1983, Iroquois box players banded together, assembling a field team that traveled down to Washington D.C., where the team scrimmaged the Canadians.

“We got our butts handed to us, mainly because we were in the penalty box the whole time,” Lyons said. “Our guys were playing with box rules. They didn’t know why they were getting pushed off the field to the penalty box. We played one-man down, sometimes two- or three-men down, for basically the whole game. But after it was over the guys said, ‘that was kind of fun,’ and so we talked about doing it again.”

The next year, the Summer Olympics were being held in Los Angeles. As part of an effort to restore gold medals won by legendary Native American athlete Jim Thorpe, medals that mysteriously vanished after being stripped by the International Olympic Commission, Dennis Banks — leader of the American Indian Movement — organized “the Great Jim Thorpe Longest Run.”

Banks, a former professor at Stanford University, had been granted sanctuary by the Onondaga Nation following accusations he’d started riots while leading demonstrations. He could go only as far as the Onondaga border, but a crew of Native Americans literally ran across the country to Los Angeles. It took about three months for them to make it.

Meanwhile, Lyons helped organized what became known as the Jim Thorpe Memorial Pow-Wow Native Games, a series of lacrosse games coinciding with the Olympics. The games featured teams from Canada, England, Australia and one from Orange County in California.

At the time, the Iroquois didn’t have the funds to send a team to California, but support came almost out of nowhere in the form of a $10,000 contribution from the Democrat & Chronicle newspaper in Rochester. And thanks to $24 flights from People Express Airlines, the thrown-together team made it to Los Angeles, right around the time the runners made it to the West Coast.

Six years, later the Nationals made their FIL premiere at the 1990 World Lacrosse Championships in Perth, Australia, finishing fifth. In 1994, the Iroquois finished fifth again. Before missing the 2010 world games in Manchester, the team had finished fourth in three consecutive tournaments, each time falling to the Australians.

The history of that matchup actually flew under the radar Monday night as the Iroquois downed the Australians 12-10 in a rain-delayed round-robin matchup.

Amid the delay during the first go with the Aussies, the Iroquois assembled in their locker room and engaged in a ceremony known as a “feather dance” or “fluff dance,” which involves gathering in a circle as each person takes a turn attempting to pick up a feathered hat without using their hands. Apparently, the light-hearted, entertaining scene helped the group relax and refocus. Not as limber as he once was, Mark Burnam apparently pulled something as he got down low and almost snagged the hat with his teeth.

Numerous people with the team told me it was the dance that helped the Iroquois come out with four consecutive goals after the hiatus and pull away from the Australians, who have one of the most animated and boisterous fan bases at the tournament.

Playing loose, coaches said, actually helped down the stretch against the Australians.

Monday’s result and the significance of this rematch makes it that much more interesting. The past few years have seen Iroquois players and Iroquois-heavy teams make history — the Iroquois Nationals making noise at the 2012 U19 world championships; Lyle and Miles Thompson shattering NCAA records this season and then co-winning the Tewaaraton; the Rochester Knighthawks winning three straight NLL titles on the backs of several Iroquois Nationals members.

“This is a big moment for us,” said coach Steve Beville, who also coached the Iroquois U19 squad that upset the United States in Finland and then won a bronze medal in 2012.

A medal for the Iroquois Nationals at the FIL World Lacrosse Championships feels like a long time coming, more than 30 years in the making — perhaps more like centuries in the making for the people who invented this game. And Saturday feels like their best chance yet.